The defeat of the fire attack fleet without a fight slowed down the rhythm of the first fleet. Mingqiu ordered to reduce the speed to 3 knots and sail west to avoid the smoke on the battlefield. At the same time, he also had to let each ship rest for a while. .Especially the turbine department: the frequent acceleration since the morning has overwhelmed the boiler, many pipes and valves have leaked, a large amount of cinder has no time to clean, and failures occur frequently.
The artillery also needed to be cleaned after a morning of fighting. Mingqiu sent out a signal to call the captains of each ship to the Lichun for a meeting. The ammunition reserves were checked, and the cannon shells of each ship were redistributed according to the situation to ensure the next step. There was enough firepower when attacking Xiamen.
At 10:30, Mingqiu ordered all ships to have lunch in advance. 15 minutes later, the first battle group approached Xiamen Island.
Xiamen Island has become a mess. From the heights of Xiamen Island, you can barely see the battle situation in Xiamen Bay, but the thick smoke quickly obscures the battlefield, and it is too far away to see clearly. Until you can see it from the sea It was only when a fire attack ship that had escaped arrived at Xiamen Island that it caused panic throughout the island.
The fire attack ship was carrying Zheng Lian, who jumped into the water in time to escape. Not only was he soaked to the skin, but the back of his clothes was also scorched by the flames, making him very embarrassed.
Zheng Lian didn't care about how miserable he was. When he got to the shore, he asked for a fast horse. He jumped on the horse and whipped it, and went straight to Zhongzuo City.
The people on the shore saw the burning attack ships returning from the sea in twos and threes. They were all devastated. Some even fled directly to the mainland without even reaching Xiamen Island. In the midst of panic, a hole was blown in the hull and mast of a ship. One of the boats fell, and the sails were mostly burnt. The lucky boat staggered to the pier. The scene on the deck was miserable. The crowd who had gathered at the pier seemed to suddenly wake up and dispersed in a rush. They all ran away. Net. Even the soldiers on duty at the dock escaped.
Xiamen Island is the main foreign trade port of the Zheng family. Zheng Zhilong attacked Yuegang many times, burned down the streets, and captured ships. The purpose was to force the maritime merchants to transfer trade to Xiamen. Although this island is not very big, it is prosperous due to foreign trade. Thanks to the blessings, the economy is quite prosperous. A large commercial area has been formed outside the city of Zhongzuosuo.
At the wharf of the Zheng family, warehouses are lined up along the wharf, and goods are piled up like mountains. At this time, there are many trading ships moored on the wharf, some belonging to the Zheng family, and some just coming here to trade. I heard that "Kun Thief" "The army came. From merchants to sailors, everyone was in despair. Some people saw that their cargo was in danger. They couldn't help beating their chests and wailing loudly. The sound of crying on the dock suddenly shook the sky.
At this time, the city of Zhongzuo Suo was already in chaos. The atmosphere of terror caused by Zheng Lian riding a fast horse into the city also infected the entire city. Inside the Zhongzuo Suo, well-to-do people were supporting the elderly and the young, carrying large and small bags. Many people left the city and prepared to hide in the mountains, but the poor people outside the city were pouring into the city, hoping to escape the "thieves" under the protection of the city wall.
For a time, the gate of the city was already crowded. People leaving the city and entering the city pushed each other with all their strength. The old, weak, women and children were pushed down, trampled, and even trampled to death. Guarding the city gate The Zheng family sergeants were at a loss and could only shout loudly, but to no avail.
The former government office lobby of Qianhusuo in the center of the city is now Zheng Zhilong's meeting hall. Although Zheng Zhilong is already the general of the Five Tigers Travels and has official posts everywhere, he still does not break away from the habits of the sea master. The rules are not too strict.
Pay attention, in the courtyard under the steps of the lobby, the main generals of the Zheng family are gathered in small groups, and most of the backbones of the Zheng Group, known as the "Eighteen Zhi", are in the meeting hall, with faces on their faces
They all showed an expression of impending disaster.
The atmosphere in the hall was dull and depressing. Even after Li Kuiqi took away most of Zheng Zhilong's subordinates, and Zheng Zhilong once found himself in such a dilemma that he only had "three hundred soldiers", the members of the "Eighteen Zhi" still believed that their eldest brother could turn the tide and regroup.
.
But now they have lost that confidence. The news brought by the panting Zheng Lian made everyone realize how terrifying their opponents are.
Zheng Lian is not a young man who is fighting for the first time. He is an old brother who participated in the Shibazhi sworn alliance. He is definitely not a coward who will brag about how powerful the enemy is after losing the battle.
.
"Everyone, please don't act like a dead mother," Zheng Zhilong broke the silence in the meeting hall, "The thief is on the sea outside, just a gust of wind away from Xiamen, tell me what to do!"
"Xiamen is the key to Quanzhou. If we abandon the defense, Quan and Zhang will be in danger. We will not be able to explain it in front of the governor." Zheng Zhifeng saw that many people here had the intention of abandoning the defense, so she coughed and said.
"Now news has been sent from Kinmen that the entire army has been wiped out, and the whereabouts of Second Master Mang are unknown. Brother Lian has been defeated again and has lost his ship. How can he fight against the Kun bandits again?" Someone raised an objection, "In my opinion, it's better to
The Chengkun thieves have not yet landed, so we should quickly send people to negotiate and persuade them to retreat╠╠We are also members of the imperial court after all, and our brothers are all people with official status, so I don’t think they dare to make any mistakes."
"Retreat?" Zheng Zhibao sneered, "The thief Kun has put up such a big battle, can you scare him back with just a few words? If the thief Kun was afraid of officials, how could he have gone to Guangzhou in the first place?"
"Promise it to benefit..."
Zheng Zhifeng shook his head: "You are trying to cede territory to pay compensation. Spending a few dollars is a trivial matter. The thieves are not interested in our money, but in Xiamen Island! Even if we want to cede territory, we have nowhere to cede it."
Ah!" He stood up, looked at everyone and said, "From the time we became sworn brothers in the fifth year of Tianqi to now, following our eldest brother to conquer this country, now we are all extremely wealthy. But except for these few small islands, we
, Where can we have a foothold on the mainland? The thieves are now trying to dig up our roots. This Xiamen Island is the root of everyone! If the roots are gone, we brothers will no longer have a foothold in the future, so what are we talking about?
once a Thief?"
Zheng Zhilong nodded secretly. Zheng Zhifeng was right. This Xiamen Island was the foundation of his fortune. How much energy and effort did he spend to take this island as his own? How could he give it up to the thieves so easily?
At this time, someone supported Zheng Zhifeng: "We can't run away. The money, food and goods on this island won't be transported for a while. Could it be that they are all left here to make it easier for the thief? If that happens, our brothers will not even have the money."
No pants left!”
The group of people suddenly burst into laughter, and the solemn atmosphere relaxed.
Zheng Zhilong also showed a smile on his lips: "Zhi Feng is right, this is our brothers' home base, and it is more important than Anping. How can we leave it to the Kun thief? No matter how powerful the Kun thief's ship is, it will always be
I can't make it to the shore."
"Exactly, brother!" Zheng Zhifeng became more energetic when she heard that he supported her. He and the thief were incompatible with each other╠╠He was the mastermind behind several actions against the thief╠╠"Kinmen has been lost.
Guard, we will have no place to stand! On Xiamen Island, we still have 10,000 troops and more than a dozen red barbarian cannons. As long as we are willing to give a heavy reward, our brothers will fight to the death. The thieves have come from a long distance, can they
How many men and horses do you need to bring? As soon as he lands, ten of us will fight for one of him, even if we exchange our lives, we will use up all of them!"
The so-called 10,000 troops on the island is an imaginary number. In fact, apart from the troops guarding the villages everywhere, there are only 4,000 land warriors available on the island. However, each general has his own soldiers and servants, and there are about a thousand people in total.
, especially the Black Guards and Japanese Guards recruited by Zheng Zhilong himself, which also included a number of Portuguese officers. They were all professional soldiers, well-equipped and well-trained, and could be called elite according to the standards of the time.
In addition to Lu Yong, the sailors of the Zheng family's fleet on the shore can also be used as casualties, and there are thousands of them in total. However, these people have not been trained in land warfare and do not know how to march. They can only fight with the wind. Zheng Zhifeng is simply exaggerating.
, just inspiring.
However, taking the five ships of the Kunlun Lu division, there are only a thousand people at best. It is not a problem to beat one out of ten and one out of four to five.
Everyone has heard that the Australian navy is powerful╠╠Now they have witnessed it with their own eyes, but they don’t have much perceptual knowledge of how strong the Australian army is. There have always been only vague rumors about He Rubin’s defeat on Hainan Island, and there are no
Not accurate. According to their usual thinking, the members of Shibazhi believed that they were just an army stronger than the officers and soldiers╠╠Being able to defeat the officers and soldiers these days is not a big deal╠╠The Zheng family had defeated the officers and soldiers many times, and
When officers and soldiers were conducting campaigns on land, they sometimes had to ask the Zheng family to send troops to assist them.
Xiamen Island is also their home ground. In addition to Zhongzuo Suo City, the Zheng Group has built multiple camps here and has stockpiled a large amount of gunpowder and food. The food and wages are enough to support it for more than ten years. Even if the land battle fails, as long as they retreat to the walled city,
The Australians will not dare to stay here for a long time if they go deep into the city alone. As long as they hold on to the wall, they will have to retreat in less than ten days and a half.
At that time, he decided to defend Xiamen and spread Tangma to various coasts. There were many camps and beacon towers built along the coast of Xiamen Island. However, Zheng Zhilong was not at ease and sent Tangma to patrol along the coastline to prevent the bandits from sending surprise troops ashore.
After the assault, the main force was concentrated in the center and left. In addition to Lu Yong, there were also various family members and his personal guards, a total of 4,000 people. As soon as the Kun thieves landed, they fought outside the city of Zhongzuo.
Everyone knows that the Kun pirate ship has strong guns and powerful guns, so Zheng Zhilong decided not to meet the enemy on the coast to avoid being damaged by the enemy's artillery fire, but to fight in a deeper area. Since the Kun pirate ship landed on Xiamen Island, it will inevitably focus on the center and left.
As the primary goal, I will fight at the foot of the city and wait for work.